Main News

Search the Main News Archives

Enter keyword(s) to search the database:

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Receive Grant from Whalen Foundation for Prayer-Request Phone Application

Most of you know more than we Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet know about phone apps! For those who don’t, the term “phone app”comes up in everyday conversation; a phone app is short for a cell phone application. These applications are add-ons to a cell phone, so that the phone can perform functions in addition to making a phone call. Many people download the extra apps they want to enhance the performance of their cell phone. For instance, people can now surf the net, blog, twitter, play games, locate a friend, study for SATs, etc. While there are apps for almost every category you can think of, the congregational communication directors have discovered there are very few phone apps for prayer requests.

During the past two years, the congregational communications personnel of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (Jenny Beatrice [St. Louis], Sister Susan Hames [Congregational Leadership Team liaison], Sister Mary Agnes Nance [Los Angeles], Sister Mary Rose Noonan [Albany], Sister Carol Louise Smith [Los Angeles] and Ann Thompson [St. Paul]) have discussed the possibility of creating a phone app (application) for the purpose of providing a vehicle through which individuals may request prayers easily and quickly through their cell phones. After doing a search, the group recognized that there is no current phone app sponsored by a religious congregation to accept prayer requests for persons in a hurry in today=s sometimes frenzied society.

This past year, the group completed initial plans and obtained estimates. Sister Mary Rose Noonan, in consultation with Jenny, Sister Susan, Sister Mary Agnes, Sister Carol and Ann, wrote a grant proposal to the John, Marie, Joseph Whalen Foundation, Inc. and was awarded a grant of $15,920 to cover the total cost of designing, implementing and initial advertising for the phone app. The searchable name of the phone application will be PRAYERS PLEASE, and the icon will be the heart and hand in the present logo for the 175th Anniversary, designed by Sister Marion C. Honors (Albany). The new phone app will be simply our gift to those in need of prayers; the app will be listed among FREE apps.

This app will provide individuals anywhere in the world the opportunity to input a prayer request and receive a response. The prayer application will be designed to accept prayer requests as text messages from a variety of sources including the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android platforms. Those who are making the prayer requests will download a free application for each platform that will allow them to enter their request and send it through their device. Because of these multiple platforms, most cell phone users will be able to take advantage of the service. The prayer request, in turn, will be forwarded to the Provincial Houses in Albany, Los Angeles, St. Louis and St. Paul. The persons who request the prayers will receive an immediate response. The requests will then be stored each day until a person in each location prints the stored requests. Each province will determine the means by which the requests for prayers are honored. (For example, in the Albany Province, the requests may be entered in the daily intention book at the Provincial House; such intentions are remembered each day at Liturgy.)

The communication directors hope that the prayer-request app will accomplish the following goals:

To provide an easily accessible vehicle for prayer requests, using digital media

To continue the call of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet to respond to the needs of the times, part of the essence of our mission

To extend the presence of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet to a new audience

To advertise our app and our congregation to the public.

The communication directors express gratitude to the Whalen Foundation for the generous grant to fund this wonderful project! Watch for news updates for PRAYERS PLEASE! We will let you know when the app is fully functioning!